Take Home a spike from St. Paul Street

Remember last summer, 2017, when St. Paul Street was stripped out and basically rebuilt? Well, have we got a treat for the transportation-history-lover in your life.

Part of the demolition process was removing former Niagara, St. Catharines, and Toronto (NS&T)/Canadian National Railway (CNR) streetcar track that was paved, first in the 1950s. The spikes were put in as part of a maintenance program undertaken by the CNR in 1926. While they aren’t part of the original trackage from the Victorian era of streetcar transportation in St. Catharines, they are still pretty old, and really super cool.

A postcard copy of this photo (STCM N-1107) comes with each spike. The spikes were pulled from this section of St. Paul Street in the summer of 2017.

These streetcar railway spikes are literally straight out of the ground. Since the Museum already has plenty of examples of railway material (including an actual section of track! – ya, that’s right – an Actual. Section. Of. Streetcar. Track) in the collection, the spikes were given to the Museum to use in a way that could support the Museum’s public programs while at the same time sharing the history of our community.

So here we are. The spikes from St. Paul Street are now on sale at the Merritt’s Mercantile Gift Shop here at the Museum. But there is a limited supply – so hurry in! They will go quickly!

CNR Streetcar Railway Spike: $7.00

While supplies last. Each spike comes with a postcard photograph of the section of St. Paul Street from the approximate time the spikes would have been put in the ground.

John Mills’ book “Niagara, St. Catharines, & Toronto Railway: Electric Transit in Canada’s Niagara Peninsula” is also available at Merritt’s Mercantile for the great price of $19.95. There are a few great chapters about the railway and streetcar tracks in St. Catharines.

Wait! There’s more!

Yep! You can pick up a spike and a copy of the book for $25.00!

Hurry in today to take home your very own piece of our amazing local history.